s351: s 351 No adverse action on discriminatory grounds
An employer does not take adverse action against an employee or prospective employee because of race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, breastfeeding, gender identity, intersex status, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or carer's responsibilities, subjection to family and domestic violence, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, except action not unlawful under the relevant anti-discrimination law, action based on the inherent requirements of the position, or good-faith action by a religious institution to avoid injury to adherents' religious susceptibilities.
Our statement of the clause of Australia Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), held and verified: cite it as s351. The instrument verbatim is not quoted here; the held framework carries the reading.
The evidence this duty asks you to hold
Recruitment, promotion and termination decision records showing merit-based criteria; Inherent requirements analysis for roles where a protected attribute is relevant; Discrimination complaint and investigation records
What usually goes missing
Pregnant candidate not hired with no documented reason; Redundancy selection falling on employees with carer responsibilities; Age-related comments in termination decisions
Where this lands in an audit
In Equal Pay Auditor this control informs the same-work screen, the category figures and the remediation steps, which carry their article citations on the result.